Meet the Artists 2024 - Part 1
As we approach this year’s Furnished for Good, we will feature our artists who have created pieces for the upcoming event and auction. This year we are working with 14 local artists selected by our Guest Curators, Damon Reaves and Lawren Alice. All of these artists work with different mediums, have diverse styles, and bring new perspectives through their artwork. This week we are featuring Julie Woodard, Breck Brunson, Emily White, and S. Jenx. All four of these artists created pieces that were originally chairs/seats.
Julie Woodard
Using salvaged textiles and found materials, Julie "Juicebox" Woodard creates wearable pieces, impressionistic landscapes, and abstract terrains that convey her passion for nature, memory, and creative reuse. What began as a way to honor her late mom and repurpose family heirlooms, her collections now also feature vintage goods, damaged textiles donated by community members, cutting room remnants, and street debris.
Julie's artistic practice is rooted in the tension between holding on and letting go, of memorialization and detachment. A self-proclaimed 'doula of discarded things,' she transforms both trash and sentimental scraps into kinetic images of texture and light. Her process incorporates elements of collage, applique, embroidery, quilting, painting, printmaking, and soft sculpture. The "juice" is the joy Julie seeks to create and the "box" is her platform for storytelling and advocacy. Every piece has a story. Every textile is repurposed with purpose.
Breck Brunson
@breckbuilt on Instagram
Breck Omar Brunson (Artist/Designer/Musician) was born to a cosmetologist mother and insurance salesman father just south of Philadelphia in Chester, Pennsylvania in 1975. Although born in the northeast he spent most of his young summers with extended family in the south. The contrast of lifestyles has influenced Breck to question his surroundings and his place comparatively within them.
Through simple suggestive gestures, he finds ways to include his audience in his artwork by giving them just enough to engage while simultaneously provoking consideration of their own place in his created environments, pictorials, and objects. He makes original works and uses or manipulates found objects to narrate his presented encounters. He feels that art is happening with and without us at all times and we simply need to isolate any given moment to see the depth and hear the conversation. Breck is also a designer specializing in furniture pieces and décor. He pursues this branch of his creativity with the same simplicity and deductive nature. He also explores sound in various music outfits as a writer, vocalist, and producer. Breck currently lives and creates in Philadelphia.
Emily White
@gggreatwhite on Instagram
Emily White is a painter, muralist, and sculptor. Emily has been painting murals in Philadelphia for a decade. She has worked with the Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia Flower Show, The Philadelphia International Airport, Blick, Kettel One, and Virgin Voyages. In August, she painted a mural for Front Street Walls in Fishtown. She's had her hand in many prominent Philadelphia Mural Arts murals as well. Emily also creates sculptures and paintings for gallery shows and had her second solo feature with Arch Enemy Arts in December 2023.
Originally from the Boston area, Emily has been living in Philly for 11 years. She graduated from Massachusetts College of Art in 2011 with a BFA in sculpture. In 2021, she started White Knuckle Painting LLC and continues to paint murals and signs for businesses in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs.
S. Jenx
S. Jenx is a boundary-pushing artist specializing in photography collage, whose work delves into the captivating realm of visual storytelling. Drawing inspiration from diverse landscapes and experiences, Jenx's artistic journey has been a constant exploration of merging reality with the fantastical.
Raised with an innate curiosity, S. Jenx developed a passion for capturing moments through a lens. However, it was his fascination with collage that truly ignited his creativity. Through meticulous selection and arrangement, he weaves together photographs, reshaping ordinary subjects into extraordinary narratives. Each piece reflects an intricate interplay of color, texture, and composition that evokes both familiarity and surrealism.
S. Jenx also owns Happy Cat Print Design, a vibrant, customer-centric business that specializes in creating personalized, eye-catching printed materials on various substrate to meet a wide range of needs.
